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Cost efficient GPU upgrade?

Hairboi

Hairboi

Hairboi

Associate
Joined
2 Oct 2006
Posts
561
I am looking at upgrading my GPU and wondered if there was a cost efficient option or if the 3070 is worth keeping given the current GPU price market?

I mainly play CS2, Dota2, Satisfactory, Valheim as well as some video editing but may be looking at some newer games over the next few years.

Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-Core Processor 4.20 GHz
Installed RAM 64.0 GB (63.1 GB usable)
Storage 1.82 TB SSD WD_BLACK SN850X 2000GB
Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (8 GB)

Haven't been into PCs for a while and didn't know if my GPU is a big bottleneck at the moment or not.

Thanks in advance!
 
the 7800x3d won't be the bottleneck

what is your budget?
basically the "mid-range" cards (5060ti/9060xt) are equivalent to the 3070ti in rasterisation performance
the first meaningful bump in performance for you would be the 5070 (akin to the 3080ti)

honestly i'd hold out for at least the 9070 (non-xt), 9070xt or 5070ti, if those are within your price range
i wouldn't bother with an upgrade for anything less than that
 
Not really a case of budget, more a case of getting value.

I've always bought the 'best bang' components (back to the venice 3200+ or 7800gt at the time) hence the 7800x3d now, and don't want to shell out a load for a weak performance increase.

I managed to get the 3070 second hand and it's held strong so far but I suspect it's due an upgrade soon as the CPU is a lot more recent.

5070 looks a bit better than 9070 on benchmarks, price bump on the 5070ti is a bit much I suspect.

I'll look into the 5070, thank you :)
 
Hairboi said:
5070 looks a bit better than 9070 on benchmarks, price bump on the 5070ti is a bit much I suspect.

I'll look into the 5070, thank you :)
Click to expand...

The 9070 is on average roughly 5-6% faster at most resolutions than the 5070 while also sporting 4gb of extra VRAM.

If the games you play heavily favour Nvidia, or you have a hard preference for the company or certain technology/software (for video editing as an example) the 5070's not a bad buy.

For pure gaming purposes and longevity in mind, I'd lean toward the 9070.

www.techpowerup.com

PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 Hellhound Review

The PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 Hellhound features a slim dual-slot cooling solution that delivers outstanding temperatures while staying whisper-quiet under full load. Energy efficiency is incredible, too, and you get a dual BIOS as well.
www.techpowerup.com www.techpowerup.com
 
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I'd be looking at a 9070XT if you can afford it. It'll be a great match for your setup.
The 5070Ti will be excellent, but big £££.
If you need something cheaper than the 9070XT, a 9070 is a good shout.
Below that I would look at a 5060Ti 16GB.

In 2026 I wouldn't be spending my money on a GPU with less than 16GB VRAM i.e. I think a 5070 is a poor purchase since if the VRAM runs out it turns into a slideshow.

Alternatively there are great used purchases on the Member's Market - Check the rules regarding access.
I recently looked up the Ebay price of my 7900XT 20GB before I sold it to a friend. Ebay was around £400-450 they are great cards.
 
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Hairboi said:
5070 looks a bit better than 9070 on benchmarks
Click to expand...
not sure where you see that from unless it's from a specific title.
in general the 9070 non-xt is faster

Gray2233 said:
The 9070 is on average roughly 5-6% faster at most resolutions than the 5070 while also sporting 4gb of extra VRAM.
If the games you play heavily favour Nvidia, or you have a hard preference for the company or certain technology/software (for video editing as an example) the 5070's not a bad buy.
For pure gaming purposes and longevity in mind, I'd lean toward the 9070.
Click to expand...
^ that's what he said
 
Hairboi said:
Not really a case of budget, more a case of getting value.

I've always bought the 'best bang' components (back to the venice 3200+ or 7800gt at the time) hence the 7800x3d now, and don't want to shell out a load for a weak performance increase.

I managed to get the 3070 second hand and it's held strong so far but I suspect it's due an upgrade soon as the CPU is a lot more recent.

5070 looks a bit better than 9070 on benchmarks, price bump on the 5070ti is a bit much I suspect.

I'll look into the 5070, thank you :)
Click to expand...
GPU market is slowly getting pooped on. Not to the extent of RAM yet, but is moving that way.

E.g. the 16GB GPUs (9060 XT and 5060 Ti) have gained £100-£150 from their launch price (even more for premium models).

9070 XT is around £100 more, 5070 Ti and 5080: ~£150.

Funnily enough, the 9070 has gained the least right now, but I think those are time-limited offers, because the newer 9070 GRE is taking on the £500 price point.

Anyway, what I'm getting at, if you take a 9060 XT 16GB for £430 and a 9070 for £540, that's 50% higher performance for 25% more money.
 
Tetras said:
Funnily enough, the 9070 has gained the least right now, but I think those are time-limited offers, because the newer 9070 GRE is taking on the £500 price point.
Click to expand...

Best GPU buy on OCUK right now imo:

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £547.98 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

There's a few teardowns that indicate it uses (as in this particular model) a phase changing sheet on the die rather than regular thermal compound too, which is impressive at the price point if true.

Even if it doesn't, it's still better than any other GPU on average for the cost and certainly so a 5070 unless you need Nvidia specific features.
 
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Hairboi said:
Not really a case of budget, more a case of getting value.

I've always bought the 'best bang' components (back to the venice 3200+ or 7800gt at the time) hence the 7800x3d now, and don't want to shell out a load for a weak performance increase.

I managed to get the 3070 second hand and it's held strong so far but I suspect it's due an upgrade soon as the CPU is a lot more recent.

5070 looks a bit better than 9070 on benchmarks, price bump on the 5070ti is a bit much I suspect.

I'll look into the 5070, thank you :)
Click to expand...

The RX9070 overall is considered faster - even Digital Foundry day one benchmarks show it was mostly faster.
 
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What are the main differences between all the different brand and models of the 9070 and 9070xt? Some have quite a big price difference, is there a similar improvement in performance?
 
the difference that the manufacturers are charging for, is mostly cooling performance and factory overclocks

there aren't any bad 9070 or 9070xt cards in terms of cooling
the factory overclocks are not significant either

personally, i am of the opinion that anything other than the cheapest version is a waste of money
as such, my recommendation is that you just get the cheapest card on the day

an old video, but a good summary:
 
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tamzzy said:
the difference that the manufacturers are charging for, is mostly cooling performance and factory overclocks

there aren't any bad 9070 or 9070xt cards in terms of cooling
the factory overclocks are not significant either

personally, i am of the opinion that anything other than the cheapest version is a waste of money
as such, my recommendation is that you just get the cheapest card on the day

an old video, but a good summary:
Click to expand...
im 100% with you there the cheapest version of the "sku" unless there is a manufacturer to avoid, but im the same with MOBOs as well
 
edscdk said:
im 100% with you there the cheapest version of the "sku" unless there is a manufacturer to avoid, but im the same with MOBOs as well
Click to expand...
i just chuckle when i see specs with £300-400 motherboards and features that will never be used :cry:
 
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